The present invention relates to a dental apparatus comprising a display and an actuating device by which at least two programs for the dental apparatus can be selected and actuated.
Such dental apparatus have been known for some time. Dental apparatus can be realized for different applications. For example, a dental apparatus can be embodied as a mixing device or as a firing furnace. In all cases, a program-controlled operation is provided. In the simplest case, for example, for a mixing device, the substances to be mixed are introduced and a starting key is pressed for actuating the mixing process. It is known to indicate the operational mode of such dental apparatus via displays which, in the simplest case, are operation-indicating lights but can also be in more complex forms.
A dental apparatus embodied as a light-curing device which is provided with a display and also has an actuating device, is known, for example, from DE-GM 80 072 657. In this device the display is a numerical display of saved values of a time counter. Such a display can provide information to the dentist or dental technician with respect to the advancement of the curing process of the dental apparatus. However, they do not provide any further detailed information which is not critical only when the dental technician or dentist concentrate on the curing process during the curing step so that the operator knows exactly which type of restoration is to be carried out and which one of the programs is being used.
Furthermore, it has been suggested to provide a dental apparatus with different programs which, depending on the application, provide different light curing curves.
Light curing curves can differ with respect to the course of the starting curve, with respect to the maximum light intensity, but also with respect to whether an intermediate or pulsed operation or continuous operation is to be performed whereby for intermediate operation the frequency and signal shape of the emitted light can also differ.
It was shown by tests, that depending on the location of application different light curing curves are beneficial. When, for example, inner linings or small fillings must be polymerized, the use of maximum output carries the risk that, due to the increased shrinking force, open margins will result. This means that for small size fillings it is necessary to perform curing at lower light output even though this light output would be insufficient with respect to curing respectively larger sized fillings or crowns. For large sized fillings or crowns which may also optionally have very complex shapes, it was found to be beneficial to employ a pulsating operating mode.
On the other hand, there is the risk that the operator for the dental apparatus is overtaxed, when for the curing process first a preliminary examination with respect to the curing problem must be performed and, subsequently, an optionally only numerically specified program must be selected.
The operation of the device also entails the risk that the dentist or dental technician, especially during the hectic work situation of a dental clinic, will accidentally switch the number of the selected curing program and, despite an optimized and specified theoretically determined value, the wrong curing action is performed so that either open margins are observed or the filling is not completely cured.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a dental apparatus of the aforementioned kind which can be more easily adapted to the work situation in a dental clinic and which is easy to operate.
This object is solved in that the display has at least one tooth schematic, especially with a plurality of fields.
The invention will be disclosed in the following, using as an example a light-curing device, whereby it is understood that other types of dental devices can be used in connection with the present invention.
Inventively, it is especially favorable to have an optimal correlation between the location of treatment and the operating program. The dentist to operate the inventive device no longer has to deal with numerically identified programs when the inventive display is used because he or she can select in a very short period of time the required treatment symbol by simply repeatedly actuating the actuating key of the actuating device until the corresponding image or pictogram appears.
It is especially favorable that the inventive light-curing device is realized with a display employing liquid crystal technology. This allows to display different areas of a tooth to be restored so that it is, for example, possible to show the light-curing lining, the light-curing adhesives, the crowns, the bridges, the inlays or composites to be cured, whereby, depending upon the selection of the corresponding operating or indicator field, the corresponding program is activated. The respective indicator fields on the display are preferably embodied in the shape of a stylized tooth whereby it is understood that, if necessary, additional or auxiliary information can be provided. When employing a liquid crystal display, it is possible to alternatingly switch the respective field and synchronously activate the corresponding program or operational mode.
It is especially advantageous that operation can be carried out interactively by a single key control. For example, the operator before actuating the light curing device can simply repeatedly press the actuating key for selecting the desired operational mode in a cyclical manner, whereby for the operational mode the corresponding location of treatment is displayed on the display in a manner such that a selection option is signaled, for example, by blinking of the corresponding indicator field.
As soon as the corresponding operational mode and the location of treatment have been activated in this manner, the operator can then start the polymerization process by actuating the actuator key differently, for example, by pressing twice with a very short interval, the so-called double clicking, or by holding down the actuator key for an extended time period. This is also indicated on a corresponding display, for example, by additionally activating a corresponding indicator field on the display or by continuously displaying the indicator field for the application or treatment location.
In a preferred embodiment, it is instead suggested that preselection is indicated by blinking or continuous activation of the respective restoration field or by operating the corresponding field with reduced display intensity. Certain crystal displays allow such a mode of operation. In modified embodiments it is suggested to then operate during operation of the dental apparatus the corresponding display field with maximum intensity.
Inventively, the transfer of the programming information into the location information is especially important whereby the corresponding program for the dental apparatus is preset such that action by the operator is no longer required or even desired. Accordingly, the operating safety is considerably increased. The error probability for operation of the device is accordingly also reduced.
It is understood that, if necessary, additional fields can be provided within the display unit. Especially a bar display is of particular use which symbolically represents the intensity of the light output of the light source in an easily comprehensible manner. Such a bar display is suitable also as an indicator for activity, i.e., for the operating time of the light-curing device. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide alpha-numerical fields which, because of the minimal amount of space available, are preferably used to display abbreviations or alpha-numerical codes for indicating the operation mode. For example, the operational mode xe2x80x9clow powerxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cpulse programxe2x80x9d, as well as xe2x80x9chigh powerxe2x80x9d, can be respectively indicated as xe2x80x9cLOPxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cPULxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cHIPxe2x80x9d.